Glenn Mercer is the vocalist and guitarist of the

North Haledon, New Jersey North Haledon (pronounced North HAIL-don) is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 8,927, an increase of ...

–based rock band

The Feelies The Feelies are an American rock band from Haledon, New Jersey. They formed in 1976 and disbanded in 1992 after having released four albums. The band reunited in 2008, and released new albums in 2011 and 2017. Although not commercially suc ...

. Together with Bill Million, Mercer has written and produced virtually all of the Feelies' recorded output.

History

The Feelies' debut album, '' Crazy Rhythms'', was voted in the top 50 albums of the 1980s by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine and chosen by ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' magazine as one of the best alternative albums. Other critical acclaim included a feature in ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine. The Feelies performed on ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the first installment of the '' Late Night''. Hosted by David Letterman, it aired from February1, 1982 to June 25, 1993, and was replaced by ...

'' and on Broadway and in concerts with

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

. Mercer's music has been featured in the films ''Married to the Mob'', ''Something Wild'' (which featured a performance by the Feelies credited as "The Willies"), ''Prelude to a Kiss'', ''The Truth about Charlie'' and ''The Squid and the Whale''. Glenn's television credits include ''Dawson’s Creek'', ''Party of Five'' and ''The Real World''. He has also recorded with Feelies offshoots the Trypes, Yung Wu,

the Willies ''The Willies'' is the 15th album by Bill Frisell to be released on the Elektra Nonesuch label. It was released in 2002 and features performances by Frisell, Danny Barnes on banjo, pump organ & harmonica and bassist Keith Lowe. Reception Th ...

and Wake Ooloo. His first solo record, ''Wheels In Motion'', was released by

Pravda Records Pravda Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, representing a diverse roster of indie rock, soul, pop, and experimental artists. It is one of the longest-running independent record labels in Chic ...

on June 5, 2007. Performers on the record include Feelies drummers and percussionists Stanley Demeski, Vinny DeNunzio, Dave Weckerman and

Anton Fier John Anton Fier III (June 20, 1956 – September 14, 2022) was an American drummer, producer, composer, and bandleader. He led The Golden Palominos, an experimental rock group active from 1981 to 2010. Family Fier, known as Tony, was born in Cl ...

, as well as Feelies and Trypes bassist Brenda Sauter. His second solo record, the all instrumental "Incidental Hum", was released in 2015 on Bar None Records. Mercer's live band includes Gregston Van Pukeston (drums), Dave Weckerman (percussion), Adam Berardo (guitar), John Baumgartner (keyboards) and Bob Torsello of

Shrubs A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

(bass). In July 2008, The Feelies reunited for a series of concerts at Battery Park (with

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

) and

Maxwell's Maxwell's, last known as Maxwell's Tavern, was a bar/restaurant and music club in Hoboken, New Jersey. Over several decades the venue attracted a wide variety of acts looking for a change from the New York City concert spaces across the river. ...

. In 2011, The Feelies released their first record in 20 years entitled ''Here Before'' on the

Bar None Records Bar/None Records is an independent record label based in Hoboken, New Jersey. Early history Tom Prendergast started Bar/None in early 1986 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Having previously worked in pirate radio, booking and promoting bands in his n ...

label. Mercer wrote or co-wrote all 13 new songs. In 2017, The Feelies released "In Between" on Bar None Records. Starting in 2019, Mercer began performing a series of concerts entitled "Hazy Cosmic Jive", a tribute to the mid-1970s experimentation of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry (lead vocals/keyboards/principal songwriter) and Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their Roxy Music (album), first albu ...

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex (band), T. Rex. Bolan strongly i ...

and others, with

Richard Barone Richard Barone is an American rock musician who first gained attention as frontman for the Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and record producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created concert events ...

The Bongos The Bongos are a power pop band from Hoboken, New Jersey, that emerged from the New York City arts scene, primarily active in the 1980s, led by Richard Barone. With their unique musical style, they were major progenitors of the Hoboken indie-pop ...

. Joining on drums and bass were Dave Weckerman and Bob Torsello. Mercer currently resides in

Haledon, New Jersey Haledon ( ) is a borough in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,052, an increase of 734 (+8.8%) from the 2010 census count of 8,318, which in turn reflected an i ...

, with his wife. He has two children.

Discography

"Wheels In Motion" (2007)

"Incidental Hum" (2015)

References

External links

Glenn Mercer web site

Feelies fan web site

Glenn Mercer Band Crazy Rhythms
Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock singers American rock songwriters American male songwriters Singers from New Jersey People from North Haledon, New Jersey Songwriters from New Jersey Guitarists from New Jersey {{US-rock-singer-stub